Like this:

Eggs from the pig whipworm Trichuris suis (TSO) reduce the symptoms of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, which are both inflammatory bowel diseases – but why? At the moment, no-one is quite clear, but researchers at NYU School of Medicine are starting a clinical trial to try to find out – if you are in the US and want to join, the details about the trial are here. It may be that the parasites change the quantity and type of bacteria that are attached to the intestinal wall.

Hookworms seem to cure allergies – this could be down to the hygiene hypothesis, where life is now so ‘clean’ that the immune system doesn’t have enough to do and attacks the body.

Children brought up with animals, and youngest children in families, are often the least likely to get asthma, and this may be down to the microbiome (all the bacteria) in the home’s house dust. Mice fed house dust from homes with dogs were more likely to be immune to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) than mice fed with dust from non-dog homes. RSV is a common childhood infection, and children exposed to it are more likely to get asthma.The microbes in their gut were also different.

We can taste five main tastes – sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami (a savory flavor found in soy sauce, tomatoes, and other high-glutamate foods. There are umami taste receptors in the gut as well as on the tongue.